Black smoke billowed from the shattered door panel, obscuring Alaric's vision. He coughed, his ears ringing violently, but Anna's screams from within acted like an electric shock, searing through his nervous system.
"ANNA!" Alaric roared, slamming his shoulder against the reinforced steel door that was now jammed halfway open. The very security system he prided himself on had become a cage, a barrier between him and the woman he loved.
Inside the room, Anna jolted awake from her coma—not by a kiss, but by the bone-shaking vibration of explosions and the acrid stench of gunpowder. Her new heart hammered against her ribs, surging adrenaline through a body that still felt stiff and alien. Before her, an intruder who had managed to crawl through the ventilation shaft was leveling a weapon at her.
"Don't move, Mrs. Devano. You're our ticket off this rock," the intruder hissed, his hands trembling as he stared into Anna's wide, amber eyes.
